Migration

Jimmy Buffett

Lyrics

Intro

C(with riff)

Verse

C Whoa, lookin' back at my background
G Tryin' to figure out how I ever got here
G7 Some things are still a mystery to me
CC7 While others are much to clear
F And I'm just... living in the sunshine
CAm Stay contented most of the time
D7 Yeah, listening to Murphy, Walker and Willis
GG7 Sing me their Texas rhymes
Now most of the people who retire in Florida
Are wrinkled and lean on a crunch
And mobile homes are smothering my keys
I hate those bastards so much
I wish a... summer squall would blow them all
Away up to fantasy land
Yeah, they're ugly and square, they don't belong here
FGC They looked a lot better as beer cans

Chorus

Am And that's why its still a mystery to me
G Why some people live like they do
Am With so many nice things happening out there
D7G They never even seen the clues
F Whoa, but we're doing fine, we can travel and rhyme
CAm You know we been doin' our part
FC Got a Caribbean soul I can barely control
G7AmC And some Texas hidden here in my heart
Well now, I mighta joined the merchant marines
If I hadn't learned how to sing
On top of all that I got married to early
Cost me much more than a ring
But now those crazy days are over
You just gotta learn from the wrong things you done
I came off a rebound, started looking around
Figured out its time to have a little fun
And that's why its still a mystery to me
Why some people live like they do
With so many nice things happening out there
They never even seen the clues
Whoa, but we're doing fine, we can travel and rhyme
You know we been doin' our part
Got a Caribbean soul I can barely control
And some Texas hidden here in my heart
Well now, if I ever live to be an older man
I'm gonna sail down to Martinique
I'm gonna buy me a sweat-stained Bogart suit
And an African parakeet
And then I'll set him on my shoulder
And open up my trustee old mind
I'm gonna teach him how to cuss, teach him how to fuss
And pull the cork out of a bottle of wine
And that's why its still a mystery to me
Why some people live like they do
With so many nice things happening out there
They never even seen the clues
Whoa, but we're doing fine, we can travel and rhyme
You know we been doin' our part
Got a Caribbean soul I can barely control
And some Texas hidden here in my heart
Yeah I got a Caribbean soul I can barely control
G7FGCC7 And some Texas hidden here in my heart---- ohh...

Intro Riff

If you want to play the intro section and sound like the Buffett recorded version of this song, here are the notes and chords for the riff I recommend playing. Listen along for the strumming pattern and exact rhythm -- this just gives a rough map of the chord positions.

"Whoa, but we're doing fine, we can travel and rhyme..."

Song Info

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About

My name is David Potsiadlo, and I created Songnotes to share my collection of guitar tabs, chords, and lyrics for my favorite songs.

Since I started playing guitar over 10 years ago, I've often been frustrated by the preponderance of mediocre and incomplete song tabs littered across the internet. To combat this, I started keeping my own collection of notes for each song I learn -- always taking the extra time to make sure accuracy and completeness are never compromised. Years later, my collection grew to the point where I knew I had to share it online with fellow aspiring musicians.

In December 2012, I began designing & developing a website that became Songnotes. Here, I share my personal collection of hand-crafted music notation with all those online. I hope you enjoy.